Sacrifice
by Mistress Sorcha
Summary: Sacrifice...that's what family does for each other...sometimes that means giving everything to save someone you love...sometimes that means you have to be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice....
1. And We All Fall Down

**Chapter 1:**

**And We All Fall Down…**

Sam stood at the back of the Impala, surveying the contents of the trunk ruefully….his shook his head for a moment…the hunter's life…He was right back where he started again…only now…the madness of the past year and half made it all the more desolate in his mind's eye….It had been a shock when Dean had shown up unannounced in his apartment all those years ago, asking for his help to find dad, and grudgingly, he'd agreed to go with him with the promise of being returned to his apartment in time to make his interview…they'd found the Woman In White, stopping her from taking lives of the men, who, whether completely innocent or not, deserved to learn from their mistakes in the arena of love and relationships, rather than be killed outright….

They hadn't found dad, though…grudgingly, Dean had taken him back to the apartment, even though Sam could see the pain of his rejection of Dean's plea that Sam go with him, that they find dad and get the family back together and hunt together again, just like old times…Sam had seen the sadness, the loneliness in his elder brother's eyes, the raw need to have the people he cared about close by so he wouldn't feel so alone in the world…It had hurt Sam to tell him no…His brother was like a father to him as well as a brother and he hated seeing that look in his eyes…but he was leading the life he had chose…he was happy, he had found Jess, and he intended to marry her, he'd even been looking for the ring to ask her…when he got out of the car, he could feel the pain radiating from his brother…the dejection…the disappointment…the hurt…yet he still walked away…

In the early hours of that morning…that was when everything had changed….the demon had come, ripping away the life he had built so carefully… the life he'd always longed for…the safe, sane normality of it was like something out of a long wished for dream…the dream had been burned away as his nightmares came true…Jess was gone…he was back to being a hunter…then they finally found their father and he was ripped away from them as well as he sacrificed himself to save his dying eldest son…and the madness just kept coming…the demon's plans blowing through their lives, twisting them, turning them every which way but loose…then he and the other children like him had been taken…one by one they died, 'til only he and Jake remained…and the demon had been playing mind games with him too…Jake killed him that night…setting into motion a sequence of events that shredded any remaining sense of life the Winchester's had been able to muster…

Dean was lost…more alone than he'd ever been…he couldn't live like that…though it killed him to know his dad had done it for him, Dean sold his soul to save his little brother…he had always thought Sam was the better man, that he deserved better than what they had endured…that his own life was worth the knowledge that his brother would live…he took the deal, sealing his fate…

Sam had tried desperately to save his brother from the fate that awaited him…the fate meant for him…he had failed…with Dean gone, Sam had tried everything he could to bring him back, to sell his own soul, but Dean would not be returned to him, so he was set on going to Dean…that hadn't gone as planned either…and just when things seemed like they had finally stopped spinning…God himself sent an Angel to save Dean…

They had jumped back into the life, despite the fact that while physically, Dean was here, with him, a piece of the man he had been had irretrievably left behind in Hell…and in the void that missing piece left, all the terrifying, painful, hurtful things that had been his life in Hell took up residence…a constant, perpetual reminder of it, there to haunt him forever…and so they hunted…the Apocalypse, and angels and demons and all the biblical BS that went hand in hand with it always front and center, a new dimension to the old game they played…Sam shook he head in sadness…the more things change, the more they stay the same, he thought bitterly…

He turned slightly to call out to his brother to see if they had everything from the motel room when out of nowhere a torrent of things happened all at once…he heard the stopping of footfalls behind him, heard the cocking of a gun…the chambering of a round…the panicked shout of his name…he started to turn only to be blind-sided by a blur of a figure as the cacophony of guns firing and bullets hailing around him quickly brought time to a near stand still…he caught a glimpse of a figure dropping to the ground behind him just seconds before the blurred figure shove him from the path of fire, slamming him bodily to the brick wall… time flooded in, the world catching up to the events…Sam couldn't breath…he slid down the wall in a oxygen-deprived haze…his shoulder was on fire, having taken the brunt to of the impact, the side of his head blazed in searing pain…he felt a steady trickle of warmth flowing down the side of his face…he turned his eyes downward, his brain fog causing his view to tilt crazily for a moment, the object before him shifting in and out of focus…something familiar plucked at the back of his brain…and a sense of urgency to figure out what it was flooded through him…Sam locked his eyes shut for a moment, willing himself to think…to focus…when he opened them again, he saw a figure lying next to him…crimson Rorschach shapes welling from three separate wounds…the familiar mother-of-pearl grip was clutched in the hand of the figure, the muzzle of which had ended up underneath the body…Sam's mind snapped into focus in a dizzying rush of pain and terror…Dean…oh God!!

"Dean!!!!!" he screamed as he lurched forward to his brother's prone form…he lifted his brother's head carefully, just enough to feel for a pulse…for seconds that seemed like eternity, he struggled to find his brother's pulse point…he finally located it, pressing his fingers to it, he prayed to find a rhythm…it was there…faint…but there…

Sam's eyes shifted to look at the other fallen figure…the man's wide, black eyes shifted toward him briefly before his head was violently thrown back as a column of ashy black smoke poured out of his throat and into the air, disappearing rapidly from sight… the man heaved and jerked and was finally still…Sam turned back to Dean…he had to get him to a hospital…things were still a bit fuzzy, but if he remembered correctly, there was one a few blocks over…

Sam unfolded his lanky form from the ground…discovering that he couldn't put pressure on his right ankle…in fact, his whole right side throbbed, and in certain places burned…but none of it matter now…he had to help his brother…he had to save Dean…He bent and lifted his brother up by the denim of his coat, until he could grip him around his chest and drag him bodily to the Impala…he tore the door open, shoving the seat forward harshly on it's tracks…he lowered his brother face down to the back seat…he paused just long enough to prizen the gun from his brother's hand, and the long silver dagger tied to his outer thigh…he shifted the seat back in place, went to the trunk, placing his and Dean's weapons in the lock box and securing the trunk before he raced back to the driver's seat and folded himself into it…

Sam powered the Impala's throaty engine up, slamming it into reverse, he torqued the wheel in a violent turn and awkwardly slammed his left foot down on the gas, being mindful to not apply pressure to his right ankle…the Impala surged backward out of the parking space, skidding out of it in a hail of gravel, ending up facing in the direction of street…Sam shifted to drive and the Impala surged toward the street before him…he roared around the corner, the back end spinning out in a harsh fishtail…he corrected the turn and surged down the street toward the hospital…he took the last turn at break-neck speed, narrowly avoiding spinning out into a 360 as he fish-tailed wildly again…he launched the car into the narrow drive under the over hang of the Emergency Room banner affixed to the building…he blared the horn, calling attention to himself to speed the response of the emergency workers…

He slammed to a halt, parking the car and clumsily unfolded himself from the car, catching his foot and falling in his haste…he gripped the car frame, clambering back to his feet as he slammed the seat forward once again…

"Help!!!!" Sam bellowed….."Somebody help me!!! My brother's been shot!!!!"

A flood of nurses and doctors rushed to his aid…two strong orderlies gripped his brother and slid him out of the seat, carrying him between them to place him on the waiting gurney…Sam slammed the door and made to follow his brother's retreating form into the hospital when a voice shouting beside him finally registered in his mind…

"Sir!!!...Sir!!...You have been shot as well!!...We need to treat you!!!...Sir!!...Can you hear me?!?!?....Do you understand?!?!?" the woman's urgent voice becoming clearer…he felt a pressure on his shoulder as the woman shook him firmly to try to get through to him…as his brother disappeared through the doors, he turned to look at her…she saw the haze clearing in his eyes, the focus returning….

"Sir…" she said more gently…"Sir, do you understand me?" Sam nodded…"Good, ok, you have been shot as well…we need to treat you…can you get onto the gurney on your own, or do you need me to help you?..." she said gesturing to the waiting gurney…Sam hobbled to its side, he turned and sat down gently swinging his legs over the edge as he lay himself out…the nurse was right there next to him, just in case he lost balance…she took his hand and he looked into her eyes for a moment as they began moving toward the hospital…

"What's your name?" she asked….

"Sam…." he said, suddenly weary…his eyes became unfocused again and he kept drifting off…

"Sam…my name is Krissy…I don't want you to worry…we are going to take good care of you and your brother, ok? You just hold on…" she said, holding his hand tightly in hers as the wheeled him into Exam 1…through the door to her side, she could see them working on the man's brother…they were already hanging a fresh bag of plasma…it didn't look good from where she stood…she hoped the young man pulled through…She turned back to Sam…he was drifting in and out of consciousness…

"Sam?....Can you hear me?..." she said gently…

Sam heard a woman…the nurse...Krissy calling his name…he opened his eyes to look at her, nodding…"Dean….how's Dean…" he asked hoarsely…

"They are working on him next door….I'll go check on him for you in a moment, ok? Sam, what happened?...How did you and you brother get injured?" she said, keeping her voice calm and steady.

"Dean….savvvveeddd…me…" he said, his words faltering and slurring as the trauma to his body finally overrode the adrenaline in his system…"He sssssaaaaveedddd my….liffffffffeee…." Sam's eyes flickered rapidly and the rolled to white as he fell into unconsciousness… his hand went limp and the computers attached to the probes and leads on his body went nuts…

"He's in V-tach!!" another nurse shouted as she rushed to get the crashcart…..

"No pulse!!! He's not breathing!!! Someone bag him and start chest compressions!!!! The doctor called out as he worked to save him…"Get me an amp of Epi, stat!!!

"Dammit Sam!!!! Stay with me…." Krissy shouting, ticking the bed back to full recline…another of the trauma nurses injected the drug the doctor ordered into the IV…it didn't seem to have any affect…"come on Sam…I'm sure Dean didn't save you out there only to lose you in here…you've got to fight it!!!" Krissy said, as she prepped his chest for the paddles…she squeezed the gel onto the paddles, and handed them to the doctor…he nodded his head as he accepted them…

"Charge to 250…Everybody clear!! " he assured himself everyone was clear and then placed the paddles down, sending a jolt of electricity screaming from the wires and the paddles straight into the young man's chest…he arched violently off the gurney before slamming back down…they waited for a moment with bated breath…no appreciative response…"Charge to 300!!!! Clear!!!!!" he waited for them to clear…he placed the paddles down again, sending the electricity slamming through the man's body again…he arched up again, but this time, when he slammed back down, his eyes flew open briefly then closed again and he sucked a long, ragged breath in…they waited another moment to see if his body would take up the rhythm again…another heaving breath…then another…then another….the erratic pattern steadying out…"We got him back!! Good work, people!!! Get him stabilized…he needs to get to surgery…..Let's move people!!!" the doctor shouted and every one started moving at full-tilt-boogie…Krissy detached herself and went to check on Dean for Sam…just as she promised…


	2. Family Don't End With Blood

**Chapter 2:**

**Family Don't End With Blood….**

"Marie…..how's he doing?...." Krissy asked the petite brunette nurse that was cross-matching blood for type….

Marie broke off for a moment, raising her eyes to see who was asking….her eyes brightened for a moment…it was her room mate, Krissy…."Hey Krissy! Forgot you'd switched shifts with Jackie….Um…well, he's coded out twice…he's lost a lot of blood…one of the bullets seems to have collapsed one of his lungs, another of the bullets is worryingly close to his spine…the third narrowly missed his liver…it was a through and through…each time he coded and the doctor went to use the paddles, he reacted like he already had the paddles on him and electricity was being pumped into him…but there was no one near him…it was the craziest thing…now…his breathing it stable, as well as his pulse-rate…he looks like he's well on the way to recovery already…I tell ya…that man…whoever he is…must have guardian angel on his side or something….." she said, watching the steady pulse of the monitor…the pale man's color already returning…she shook her head…she turned to look back at her roomie…

"How's your guy doing?" Marie asked…

"Oh, Sam…he's not doing as good as his brother here…he coded out, too…they had to use the paddles on him…I promised him I'd see how his brother was doing for him…Dean…that's your patients name, apparently saved his brother's life…took the brunt of the attack…God…can you believe that? He just about sacrificed himself to save his brother…and now…he's doing better then the brother he saved…I tell ya Marie…I don't get it…Dean should probably be dead…he looked dead…I was worried I was going to have to tell Sam his brother had died saving him…instead, I might have to tell him about Sam instead…this….is…such a crazy morning…." Krissy said, shaking her head in confusion…

Marie smiled a small smile…."Bet your glad you traded shifts, huh…"

They both broke off as Dean's eyes flickered open. He moaned a low, rumbling moan, trying to speak…the tube in his throat preventing him from doing so…Marie and Krissy moved to either side of him….

"Shhhh….Dean…don't try to speak…we don't want you to dislodge the tube in your throat…do you understand?...." Krissy said…

Dean's eyes focused on hers…he nodded slowly…he motioned for something to write with…she elevated his bed to a slight incline then Krissy brought out a small tablet and pen…she placed the pen in his hands… he had a little trouble gripping it…she wrapped her hand around his and steadied the pen against the paper…he looked at her for a moment, thanking her with his eyes, before turning to look back at the paper…he scribbled out a word before moving his hand away for her to see…

SAMMY?

Krissy smiled down at him…"Dean, I'm Krissy…I'm was helping your brother while Marie here was helping you…Sam asked about you too…but…um…he's not doing so well…they're prepping him for surgery…he has several broken ribs, a gun shot wound to the abdomen…it's caused a lot of internal bleeding…he has a broken ankle and a head contusion…he collapsed into unconsciousness right after he brought you in…he coded out, but they brought him back…I promised him I'd check on you…" she said softly, trying to be as gentle as possible…Tears filled Dean's eyes…he closed them, nodding that he understood what she was saying…she placed a hand gently on cheek, stroking it gently, brushing at the falling tears…"Hey, Dean…it's gonna be ok…your brother's in good hands…Dr. Morgan is one of the best trauma surgeons in the country…he'll take real good care of your brother, ok?" she said, trying to soothe him…

He opened his eyes and nodded, tears still streaming, but lessening a little…he motioned to write again, so she braced his hand against the pad again…he wrote out a little longer of a note, then pulled back to show her…

CALL BOBBY…TELL HIM COME...GET BABY…

Krissy frowned…."What baby? We didn't find a baby…is there a missing baby we need to look for?"

Dean shook his head…she moved his hand back to the paper…he crossed out the word "BABY" and scribbled "CAR" instead…he looked at her to make sure she understood…She looked puzzled for a moment before understanding dawned in her eyes…she smiled warmly in a bemused smile at him…"You named your car Baby? I named my car too! I have a '71 Chevelle Malibu…her name is Lucy…she's…a bit rough around the edges, but I'm working on it…So…Baby, huh? And Bobby…is that who you want me to call for your Emergency Contact? Do you give me permission to tell him the location of where you are being treated?"

He nodded yes…"Alright, let me get your phone out of your personal effects…hold on just a sec…" she said…

Krissy went to the cart and grabbed the bag underneath…she rummaged until she found his phone…see opened it and scrolled, looking for a "Bobby" in the contact list…she found one…"Bobby Singer?" She said, looking at his face…he nodded…she hit the dial button…instead of playing a dialtone, the strains of "18 Wheels and A Dozen Roses" played briefly…she smiled despite herself…a gruff-sounding man answered the phone…"Dean? Where the hell are you guys? I thought you were on your way…you should have been here by now…." He said, the paternal affection and concern obvious in his voice…

"Um…Mr. Singer? My name is Krissy…I have some bad news…Dean and Sam are hurt…they are in the hospital…Dean gave me permission to call you as his Emergency Contact…"

"What?!?! What happened? Are they ok? Which hospital?!?! I'm coming to them…" he said, the panic worry evident as she heard muffled, frantic sounds on the other end of the line…she assumed he was gathering things in preparation to leave…

Dean pointed to the last part of the page...Krissy nodded in understanding…"Mr. Singer, Dean has requested you take possession of Baby, I'm mean his car…" she shook her had briefly…smiling again about the car's name…

The noises stilled for a moment…the voice on the end of the line came back to full volume, a snorting chuckle sounding briefly before he responded…"Yeah, that sounds like Dean…worryin' more about the damn car than himself…" he sighed…"…of course I'll get his Baby…" he said, in an exasperated and slightly sarcastic tone…then he perked up…"Wait a minute…is he awake? Is Dean awake? Can I talk to him?" he said, his voice hopeful…

Krissy smiled…she liked him…this Bobby Singer reminded her of her Uncle Charlie…a seemingly gruff, rough and tumble kinda guy, but underneath, he was a big softee…."Well, Mr. Singer…he awake, but he can't talk…he has a tube in his throat….but…I suppose he can listen…and if he needs to answer you, I can help him write it down and tell you what he says…how does that sound…"

"Yeah! Yeah, ok…let's try that…" Bobby said…

"Ok, hold on one sec…" Krissy said, placing the phone to Dean's ear…he smiled at her despite the tube and nodded his thanks…

She couldn't hear all of the conversation, just the low tone of Bobby Singer rumbling over the phone, occasionally she heard a word or two as his voice raised slightly… "worried………………….. damn car……..you, Sam…………sons……hold on……….soon…."Dean nodded, motioned to write again…She braced his hand again….

THANKS BOBBY…EXPLAIN WHEN YOU GET HERE….SAM NOT GOOD…HURRY…BE CAREFUL…

Krissy read the note into the phone for him...Bobby let out a worried sigh…she could practically she the pain emanating from him…

"Krissy? That's your name right?..." he said…

"Yes Mr. Singer…that's right…" she said…

"Please, Krissy…call me Bobby…hey…you make sure those boys get the best of care for me…they're all the family I got left…and thank you…for letting me know…can you tell Dean I'll be right there? I'm on my way right now…I'm bringing the tow truck…I'll make sure his Baby gets back to my shop….not a scratch on her….I'll see him in a few minutes…." he said…

Krissy could hear a diesel engine firing up in the background…the low, rumbling tone purring steadily over the phone line…"Ok…Mr…I mean…Bobby…I'll do that…" she said…

"Thank you kindly…I'll be there shortly, then I can thank you properly. See you and the boys soon, Ms. Krissy…" he said as she hung up the phone. She turned it off and placed it back into Dean's belongings…she told Dean what he had said…he nodded that he understood…he motioned to write again…she helped him…

CHECK ON SAMMY….PLEASE? THANK YOU KRISSY…

She nodded, folding the pad away…"I'll do that Dean…don't you worry…Bobby is on his way, and I'm sure Dr. Morgan is taking real good care of your brother…now…why don't you rest….your injury's are very serious…I don't even know how your awake at this point….You must have one hell of a guardian angel…" she smiled at him and helped him lay back on the bed "There you go…now, get some rest, ok? I check on your brother and bring Bobby to you when he arrives, ok?" she said. He nodded hi understanding and lay himself back, but the worry and weariness never left his eyes.

She nodded to her roommate and tilted her head toward the door to signal to her friend that she wanted to tell her something out of Dean's earshot. Marie followed her over to the door…"Keep an eye on him? Let me know when they take him up to surgery, ok?" Krissy said…

"You got it sweetie…I'll talk to you in a bit and let you know…" Marie said as she resumed what she had been doing when her roommate had come in…

Krissy headed back into Exam 1…they had Sam prepped and were about to move him…She went to his side and took his hand…they rolled him out and down the hall, swinging him into the elevator…Dr. Morgan and another nurse followed them in, then pushed the button for the third floor surgery bay…Krissy leaned down to talk quietly to Sam…"Sam? I don't know if you can hear me…but…your brother is doing great…he asked after you…he had me contact Bobby Singer for you guys…he's on his way…you just hang in there…your brother and Bobby will be waiting for you when you get out of surgery, ok?"

Sam stirred…his eyes flickered open briefly…they swiveled to meet hers…he whispered hoarsely under the mask…she could just make out the word Dean…"Hey! There you are...Dean is doing great…your brother must have one hell of a guardian angel watching over him…anyways, he asked after you…" she broke off to pull the pad from her pocket and flipped it to the last page…"…see? You just hang in there…Mr….I mean Bobby is on his way, too…you just focus on getting better, ok?"

Sam's eyes glimmered…he smiled weakly at her and nodded slightly…he whispered again, the words muffled, but she could still make out 'thank you'…

"Your welcome…now…you just rest, ok?…" she said, smoothing the wayward lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes out of the way…

He nodded slightly in acknowledgement then sighed deeply and drifted off…she stood as the elevator doors slid open and they rolled him out and down the hall to the waiting surgical team. The head Anesthesiologist took over for the moment and prepared to put him under…Krissy let his hand go reluctantly as he crossed the path of the sliding doors to the surgical bay…they shut with a sighing whoosh and a rush of air…she looked on after him for a moment before turning and walking toward the elevator. She decided to stop by the main desk to speak to the nurse ensconced there…

"Hey Shirley…. How are ya, darling'?...Listen...can you do me a favor? Can you keep an eye on him? Let me know if anything happens, when he comes out of surgery…all that jazz? I promised his brother I'd look after him…" Krissy said…

"Sure thing Krissy…I'll let you know…"

"Thanks Shirley…I really appreciate that…might just have to hook you up with that dessert you like…" she said, smiling warmly…

"OOOOoooooo….Peanut Butter Silk Pie!!! Oh!…you just always know how to get my full cooperation…." She said, smiling excitedly…she loved her some pie…"I will hold you to that, you know that right? If you're just teasing, there'll be Hell to pay…" she said, in a mock-serious voice, eyes glinting in mischief…

"I never tease, Shirley…It's a deal…I know not to mess with you and your pie obsession…I'd like to KEEP both my arms, thank you very much!!" Krissy said, chuckling deeply….

"Damn straight!!! Ok, Deal…Anything goes down, you'll be the first one I call…" Shirley said, chuckling and grinning happily…

Krissy laughed openly this time…"Thanks again Shirley….I'll check back with you later if I don't hear from you first…" she said. Shirley barely registered her words as she was already drifting of in a pie-filled fantasy. Krissy shook her head and smiled deeply as she headed back to the elevator…

Once she was back on the main floor, she went to Exam 1, gathered Sam's items and headed over to see Dean in Exam 2…he was being prepped to be moved up to the surgical floor as well…she heard a puzzled Hrmpf behind her…she turned to find Dr. Stanley behind her. He was standing at the X-ray display, studying two X-rays…she made her way to him…

"Something bothering you, Dr. Stanley?" she said, stopping beside him, studying the X-rays for a moment…one of them showed three bullets, the other appeared normal, free of wounds…"Who's the second X-ray from…I know the first one is his…" she turning to look behind her for a moment…the doctor turned to look at the patient for a moment, then at her…

"It's his as well…I just took it…I tell ya…it's the weirdest thing I've ever seen…the bullets…are gone…the collapsed lung…looks perfectly healthy…I don't get it…I took both of them personally…there couldn't have been a mix up or anything…he appears to be in relatively good health…a little anemic from the blood loss…but otherwise…" He said, breaking off, shaking his head…he moved back over to the patient's side…Dean watched him questioningly as he lifted the bloodied gauze to look at the wounds…they were nearly completely healed…"Man…that is…kinda creepy….no, actually…that is really creepy…I don't know what is going here, but…the amount of healing that's taken place and the fact that the bullets are MIA…..it's almost….. miraculous….." he said as he shook his head in awe….


End file.
